G.O.P. Path Recalls Democrats’ Convention Disaster, in 1924

There were fistfights and major influence by the Ku Klux Klan during the party’s convention at Madison Square Garden, an existential battle over the meaning of America.

Another brokered convention?

by Amy Davidson

The last contested Republican and Democratic Conventions were in 1948 and 1952, respectively, and both nominated a candidate on the third ballot.

The Myth of "Brokered" Conventions

by Leo P. Ribuffo

The 1950s and 1970s probably do not seem so long ago to most adults. Even those born later usually remember conversations with their parents and grandparents. The main exception to this practice seems to be our reigning political pundits, for whom only events since 1980 at the latest count as recent and relevant. This short-term perspective badly distorts our understanding of so-called brokered conventions.

The Perils of a Brokered Convention

by R. Craig Sautter

Before the primary system became the dominant path to nomination, most delegates to the national convention were simply loyal members of the party rewarded with a junket to a far-off city. They would readily switch their vote when ordered by state leaders or in exchange for some particular inducement. Not now.

Political Conventions

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